Gas-engine.



C. G. SPRADO.

GAS ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED sEPT.22.19o6. RENEwEn FEB.3.1917.

1,279,774. Patented sept.' 24, 1918.

'ssHEETs-SHEEI l.

mr Nun/vs Farms ca. Pnumunm., wAsmucmN. o. a f

C. G. SPRADO.

GAS ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED sEPT. 22. |906. RENEwEn FEB. 3.19I7.

1 ,279,774. l Patented Sept. 24, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITN/ESSES.- d INI/E'NTOR M 30g Q BT I /MM Mm ATTRNET. y

C. G. SPRADO.

GAS ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.22 1906. REIIEWED FEB. 3. 19|]- 1,279,774. Patented sept. 24,1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3vl IIIIIIIIIIIIII l lIIII|III|IIIIIII IHIIIIIIIIIIIIIII l --IIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIII -rQIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Mm ATTORNEY.

(.0 W INI/ENTOR UNiTED STATES PATENT oilriauon.v

CARL G. srRAno, or MLWA UKE-E,'vvrscoivsrrtV AssIGNoR To nIiLIs- GHALMERS MANUFACTURING COMP NY, OIEV MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATON. i

navarra.

. ens-ENGINE.

' Applieatiep mea september 22, 190e, serial Ne. 335,833. Renewed February 3, 1917. Vserial-Ne;-146,831.

"TolaZZ whom z'may concern:

Be it known that I, 'CARLv G. SPRADO, a Vcitizen ofthe UnitedStates, residing at Milwaukee, in the county of lWIilwaulree and State of Visconsin, haveinvented .certain new and useful Improvements in Gras-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

- This Yinvention relates Vto gas engines of the explosion type and its, purpose'is to increase the efficiency and economy of such 'engines by providing perfect regulation at Y each and any ofthe various loads within the capacity of the engine.

This invention provides for the use of a constant explosive mixture, fora given load, that is, for that load, the proportions of air and gas which compose saidmixture remain constant7 though there is a means capable of being adjusted according to vthe'quality of the gas, but do-vary with variations in the loads upon the engine. By keeping'the proportions of airand gas composing the explosive mixture constant for a given load uniformity is secured yin always attaining the maximum explosive effect 'especially as this invention also provides for a constant compression or density kof the explosive Amixture at the moment of ignition. f

' While using a constant explosive mixture "for a given load andzexploding itataconstant compression the volume of explosive mixture exploded at the several explosions Vmay be. varied within very wide limits, these limits. being the volumeof the explosion ,chamber or cylinder fand zero, the volume Y. Aszthe volume of i :exploded being proportional vto the `load upon the engine, the greater thevload the greater the charge of the explosive Vmixture required, and the smaller the load the smaller the. explosive Vcharge required. Y

. This, invention includes thefregulation .of gas engines'in the manner just-.explained and apparatusfor effecting such regulation.

, It is also Welllknovvn.- that the, explosive yelfect ofany mixture varies according tothe densityof theL explosion. y l

the-.explosion chamber or cylinder of-.a gas engineiis constant, and according to this inventionvarialole(quanti-Y ties QftheeXplO-Sive mxuregmey-be intromXture at the.. moment Off 1 Specification of Letters .'liaitent. i Patented Sept. 24, 191,87. 1

ducedi into said explosion chamber orcylinder, and it is advisable to keep the density of-.such variable quantities constantV at-the moment of ignition, lit is necessary to use an inert lllng or displacing medium 1n ther cylinder which is introduced into the cylinder lat a v'density and pressure dependent upon the density and pressure of the ex"- Under ordinary conditions air at atmos# pheric pressure 1s mlxed with-'gas at practically the same pressurev for forming the `explosive mixture, and under such condi* tions it is preferred Vto use air at atmospheric pressure for the -flllingior displacing medium. If the explosive-inixturevbe admitted at any other pressure than atmospheric, the Yfilling or displacing medium maybe and ordinarily should be ysupplied 'at a corresponding pressure. Instead of usingair Vas the lilling or displacing medium someother sultplosive mixture at the time when' it is ad-V mitted into the cylinder.

able medium may be employed andpsuch me- Y dium may be inert, as for example', spent furnace gases and. in some. localities 'Where proper charge of` explosive mixture, :this invention providesa stratification, lof the charge in the midst ofthe filling'V or' displaceV ing medium. In other words,.on the socalled suction '.strolre-7 lof the engine Vthe. (filling or displacing. medium' flows,A into ithe cylinder behind theipistonasrthe piston V-recedes and at the properI -poin't of the stroke, asl determined-by, the vload ,and indicated by the position'ofthe governor?, r the explosive 7 y mixturevlowsftin behind said,. rnedium'fforv 'the required part of the stroke-as determined .bythe load l and indicated-bythe position-of the governo-n -the chargejof explosivemixl ture being-in turnl followed ",by. .the-'filling medium for Vthe remainder io-f the @suction stroke. Thus the cylinder at-the begin-k ning of the,k Ycompressionj'stroke {isp-,always filled `with fgases, at the 'same pressurey no j Off explosive mixture may be,

matter.- how large ori-how' small the `charge This sandwiching of the charge of explosive mixture results in several advantages. The filling medium fills the ports and so confines the explosion Within the cylinder. In large engines which are usually thoroughly water jacketed, the minimum surface of the charge is exposed to a cooling influence. The charge of explosive mixture at the time of its explosion raises the temperature and pressure of the filling medium uniformly and thus stores as it were a part of its energy in the filling medium, which energy is gradually expended as in the ordinary hot air engine, the engine at; all times indicating by the Vgovernor and supplying the size of charge of explosive mixture required to maintain a constant speed no matter how conditions vary.

For carrying out this invention the following described apparatus may be employed but the broad features of this invention are not limited to the structural features shown.

In the drawings which form a part of this specification and on which the same reference characters designate the same elements in each of the several figures,-

Figure 1 is an elevation of a gas engine embodying this invention.

Fig. 2 is a 'sectional elevation taken on the line a-aof Fig. 1 looking in the direction indicated by the arrow, parts that would appear in the rear of said figure being omitted for the purpose of clearness of illustration.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the valve operating mechanism takeny on the line b-b of Fig. 2.

Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are diagrammatic illustrations of the desired stratification of the air charges and the charge of explosive mixture in the cylinder.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a detail. p

Referring to Fig. 1, the reference character 1 indicates the foundation for the cylinder 2 and frame 3 of the engine; 4, the mainL shaft; 5, the crank arm; 6, the connecting rod; '7, piston rod; all of which may be of any ordinary or preferred type.

On the mainy shaft 4r is a bevel wheel 8 meshing with the bevel wheel 9 of twice its size, which is secured to the shaft 10, from which' shaft motion is transmitted to the valve gears and the governor 11.

rlhe engine shown isa double acting engine of the 'four-cycle type and consists of the vsingle cylinder 2 at each end of which are disposed inlet and exhaust valves, the inlet valves being designated by 100 and 200 and the exhaust valves by V300 and 400,'respectively. Y

' Referring to Fig. 2, the admission valve mechanism comprises a casting 101 provided withV a gas port 102 and a separateair'port 103. 104 designates the admission valve which controls the entrance of air alone or a mixture of air and gas to the cylinder, as the case may be. 105 represents the gas valve; 106 a stufling box mechanism which is adapted to be removed bodily so that the gas valve 105 may be removed if necessary. The stem of the valve 104 is provided with a collar 108 between which and the stuffing box is compressed a spiral spring 107 to hold the valve 104 to its seat. 109 represents a partition in the casting 101 by which the stem of the valve 104 is guided. 110 represents a rocking lever resting upon said valve stem and pivoted t-o the casting; and 111 lrepresents a rocking arm also pivoted to the casting and adapted to be rocked upon the lever 110 to move the valve 104 from its sea-t. The arm Y 111 is rocked by the rod 112 secured to the eccentric 113 which in turn is secured to the shaft 10.

Referring to Fig. 3, reference character 105 indicates the gas valve to which are se- 118 are secured to a member 117 which slid-4 ably engages with the guide 116 and to the member 117 is pivoted the rocker 115 which is connected with the rocking arm 111 and rod 112 by the link 114. The driving linkage as described it will be seen constitutes a permanently positively connected linkage as contradistinguished from a tripping gear or a rotating cam tappet driving gear. This rocker 115 is adapted to rock upon the middle arm of a three-armed lever 16, which is pivoted to the casting 101 and is connected by means of therod 15, crank 171, shaft 170, crank 14, link 13 and lever 12, with the .governor 11. The three-armed lever 16 has its two outer arms pivoted to the casting in a line coinciding with the line of the pivot Aof the rocker 115 in the member 117 when the member 117 is in its lowest position, or in other words, when the gas valve 105 is upon its seat.

The middle arm of the three-armed lever 16 is dropped out of the plane of such pivhaust valve; 302, the passage for the eX- hau'st gases which `may lead to any convenient'exit; 803 represents the stuing box for,` the stem-or` said' valve ;Y 304, a spiral spring Which acting in conjunction With a collar 306 secured toits stem and the housing 305 retains the valve-upon its seat. 307 represents a'lever pivoted to the valve casing and resting against the stem of the valve 301; and 308 represents a rocking lever also `pivoted to the valve casing and rocked by the connecting rod 309 which is secured to the eccentric 310, said eccentric being secured to the shaft 10. f' Y l 130 represents flanged rojections which are made integraljwith tlie valve casings; 140represents a conduit secured to said 'projectionsy and providedwith a gas passage 141 and airV passage 142. 150 Vrepresents the gas main Whichcommunicates With-said lgas passage; r and 151 represents kan air port through which air is admitted to said air passage, the properiproportions of aina-nd gas being adjusted for quality of gasl by valves and the Y adjusting mechanism 152 which consists of an operating handle and intermeshing 'gears upon'theshafts ofthe respective'valves, the latter not being shown.

` Reference character 500 represents sparking plugs or igniters by Which the ignition of the explosive mixture isl secured;

The operation of the engine is as Vfollows: Theengine being in motion, lthefshaft Alr-is revolving, causing the shaftl 10l to "revolve and the 'eccentrics secured thereto which cause the opening of the'inlet valve 104l and theexhaust valve 3D1-'at Vthe proper intervals fby ymeans of the mechanism shown, which being a common formof valve operating mechanism, the actionWill be readily understood. f

At the Sametime that the rocking arm 111 isbeing-operated, and simultaneouslyV and in conjunction therewith, the rocker 115 is operated. This latter rockerrocking upon the middle arm of the three-armed lever '16 affects the gas valve according-'to the ini clination of the three-armed lever 16 as influenced'by the governor 11.' For example', ifthe engine beconsidered as Working under anormal load With the valve mechanism in the `position shoWn by F ig.` 2, an Vincrease of load and consequent decrease of'lspeedw of the engine vWould v,result in lowering-the arm 12,' raising" the connecting frod '15, tilting the outer end of the member 16 upvv'ardgso'that the rocking arm would open' the gas valve sooner and keep itf open :for a' longer perid and at the same timef'give thefvalvefanf in? creased lift, thus increasing the' amount :of

mixtureias Well as theproportion' onfygas in i If, on the contrary, tlie load on the engine were to decrease WithV aconsequ'ent increase of' Vspeed oftheY engine, 'the' lever 12 `Would rise, the connecting 'rodlljwouldlowen the outer end of the three-*armed lever 16, Where theV opposite end of -the` cylinder areduplicates 4'respectively oifthose already vdescribed atlength. e Y *i Figs. 4, 5, 6 land are diagrammatic illusisting in oneve'nd of the vcylinder-at the beginning of'thewcompres'sion stroke'and at the` endv 'thereof' or,`V moment l of ignition;

Figs.1-4 fand V5 represent the conditions when the-load upon the engine require'sa volume of theK explosive] mixturef equal toV one-haltl The-inlet and outletwvalve'mechanismsa d trations of the theoretical V'stratilications exthe volume of the cylinder-andFigsggand 7 Y represent the conditionsfvvhen the load upon theengine'has fallen so low-thatthe Volume ofv explosiver'mixture required is only one-third the volume of the cylinder.

'By volume of the cylinder in this explanation meant that volume inclosed between the piston at its extremelimit ofmotion'and the'more remote cylinder =head f 1 Y Y Y i In these diagrams -A represents -thefuing or displacing'medium, air; M- the explosive 'd mixture; C the'cylinder; P-the piston; and Rthe piston rod.

Asshown by Figs. 51and'7v,`the ignitersare i placed at the middle point of the compres- Y t sion space so they are always inposition ,to i f ignite the explosive mixture Without regard to the volume of the charge;

What I claim is,- A

' V1.l In an explosion-enY gine, the combination with acylinder, of'- a chest having an air chamber and a gas chamber, the former communicating through `the main Y admission port with the cylinder, andthe latter coinmunicatingwith said Vair chamber throughv a port f alined v with the admission port, aj puppet valvefor said main admissionport havi a -stem extending through said 'alined port, la Y puppet Vvalve VforV said V"gaspo't sleevedupon the stemfoffsaidf'main valve,

timed operatingmechanism forA Vthe 4main va.lve" and an'V operating mechanism fortli'e gas valvefcomprising a lever-'engaging 'the stem of said valve, an operating" member engaging'the opposite end Ofsaidlever, and

a Vshiftableffulcrurnfor'f'said"lever"whereby Y' theempliwd@ @finementinipmedfwaid t valve will be varied. A f Y '2f 1111 XplOsiOrf'iengiI-lefhe @abta- *me Wlth e Cylinder oif. a mixing `amber c directly f'coinmunieatnig throughV the main 25 admission port With'said ;eylinder; anair supply chamber constant'cmrfn'unication VWith the mixing ohamber,*"aj gasfchambe'r Communicating waa Sadam-'Xanga chamber through a port alined with the main admis'- sion port, a puppet valve controlling the main admission port and having it stem extending through the gas` port, a valve sleeved upon said stemv controlling said gas port, meansfor varying the degree of opening of said gas valve, and means for opening the main admission port valve in advance of the gas valve and for closing the gas valvein advance of the main admission port irrespective of the degree of opening of said gas` valve.

3. Inv an explosion engine, the combination with a cylinder, of a mixing chamber communicating through the main admission port with said cylinder, a gas supply connection communicating with said mixingV chamber, a valve controlling communication between said chamber and said connection, an air supply connection communicating with the mixing chamber lat a point intermediate the main port andthe vpointof communication of the gas supply with the mixing chamber, means for varying the degree of opening of said gas valve, and means for opening the main admission port valve in advance of the gas valve and forclosing the gas valve in advance of the main admissionport valve irrespective of .the degree of opening of said gas valve, said air supply being in all positions of adjustment of the gas valve in communication with the mixing chamber upon both the opening and closing of` the gas valve. Y

4. 4In an explosion engine, the combination with a cylinder, of Va mixing chamber communicating through the main admission port with said cylinder, a gas supply connection communicating with said mixing chamber, a valve controlling communication between said chamber and said connection, an air supply connection in( constant com-` munication with the mixing chamber at a point intermediate the Vmain admission port and the point of communicationof theV gas supply with the mixing chamber, means for varying the degree of opening of said gas valve,andmeans for opening the main admission port valve in advance of the gas valve and for closing the gas valve in advance of the main admission port irrespective of the degree of opening of said gas valve.V 1 n I l 5. Inan explosion engine, the combination with. IaHcylinder, of a chest having an vair chamber and a gas chamber, the Jformer communicating through the main admission port withj the cylinder, and the latterrcommunieating with said air chamber through a port alinedA with the-admissionlzport, a puppet f valve orsaid main admission portv having-a stem extending through said alined port-a puppet valve for-*said gas port sleeved upon thestem of said main valve, timed operating mechanism for the mainvalve and an' operating mechanism for the gas'valve comprising a permanently positively connected linkage including two camv elements permanently in contact, and means for adjusting the position of one of said elements to change Athe lift of said gas valve. A

6. In an explosion engine, the combination with a cylinder', of a mixing chamber directly connnunicatingthrough the main admission port with said cylinder, an air supply chamberV in constant communication with the mixing chamber, a gas chamber communicating with `said `mixing chamber through a port alined with the main admission port, a puppet, valve controlling the main admission port and having its stem extending through `the gas port, Va valve sleeved upon said stem controlling said gas port, a permanently positively connected linkage for varying the degree of opening `of said gas'valve, and means for opening the main admission' port valve in advance ofthe gas valve and for closing the-gas valve in advance of the main admission port irrespective of the degree` of opening of said gas valve. v j

7. In an explosion'engine, the combination withl a cylinder, of a mixing chamber communicating through the main admission port with said cylinder, a gas supply-connection communicating with said mixing chamber, a, valve controlling communication between said chamber andsaid connection,

an air supply connection communicatingV with the mixing chamber at a point inter mediate the main port andthe point of communication of the gas supply with the mixing chamber, a permanently positively connected linkage for` varying the degree of opening of said gasvalve, and-means for opening the main admission'port valve in advance of the gas valve and for closing the gas valve in advance of the main4 admission port valve irrespective ofthe degree of' opening of'vsaid gas valve, said airvsupply being in ,all positions-ofv adjustment of the gas valve' in communication. with the mixing chamber upon both the opening andclosing of thegas valve. n

8. In an explosion engine, the combination with a cylinder, of a mixing chamber communicating through the main admission port with said cylinder-,a gas supply connection communicating with saidV mixing chamber, a valve controlling communication between said chamber andsaid connection, an air supply connection inconstant Ecommunication with the mixing chamber ,at a point intermediate the main admission port and the point of communication of the -gas supply Vwith the mixing chamber, a permanently positively connected linkage for varying the degree of opening of said gas valve,

and means for opening the main admission' port valve in advance of the gas valve and s for closing the gas valve in advance of the main admission port irrespective of the de- 5 gree of opening of said gas valve.

9. In an explosion engine, the combination of a fuel valve, and means for operating said valve comprising permanently positively connected linkage including tWo cam elements permanently in Contact and means for adjusting the position of one of said elements to change the lift of said valve.

in the presence oftWo Witnesses.

CARL Gr. SPRADO. Witnesses:

G. F. DE WEIN, FRANK E. BENNETT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. i

In testimony whereof, I aiiX my signature 

